


Let me do it right

by TrickyTricky



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Cody, But others do not!, Episode: s04e07 Darkness on Umbara, Fix-It of Sorts, Some bad stuff still happens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-08-04 15:11:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16349063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrickyTricky/pseuds/TrickyTricky
Summary: Commander Cody decides to turn right instead of left during the Umbara Campaign





	Let me do it right

**Author's Note:**

> Full disclosure: I borrowed a fair amount of dialogue directly from the episodes. I like the continuity it helps maintain with the events we saw on screen even as this particular story veers off into variant territory almost immediately.

The whole Umbaran operation had descended into chaos and heavy losses right from the very start. The equipment issued wasn’t optimized for the incessant darkness of the environment and every inch of terrain bristled with deadly wildlife and Separatist-aligned local militias armed with highly advanced weaponry. Cody had helped process the requisition paperwork himself and sat in on several of the holo-conferences when this operation was first being discussed, where acquisition of more specialized equipment had been one of the top priority topics. It had burned deep in Cody’s gut as he watched the flickering hope in his general’s eyes die as the representative from the Senate budget committee denied their request; the fiscal expenditure exceeded the currently apportioned funds, and apparently the justification for the request was not strong enough to convince the Senate to loosen the purse-strings a little more.

The blow had been hard to take. They both knew good men would die because of that decision.

Now, their forces were finally ready to press forward again after a gaining a solid beachhead on the planet. General Kenobi stood in the transmission beam of the holo-communication device, his arms crossed in front of him in his typical ‘thinking’ pose, one hand thoughtfully stroking his beard.

Cody stood at a relaxed parade rest, his helmet held loosely at his side as he listened in on the information being passed. Even as part of his mind was paying attention to the conversation between the generals in front of him, he was also mentally compiling a checklist of a dozen other tasks that would need to be delegated out and accomplished over the next few hours. His focus abruptly snapped back fully to the image in front of them as the holo transmission began to occasionally break up into staticky bursts of incoherence.

“...It seems they’re receiving new arms shipments directly from a supply ship orbiting the planet. As long as they can keep those missile reloads and equipment regeneration going, it will be nearly impossible to successfully overcome their defensive positions.”

It was unclear how much of General Kenobi’s statement made it through, as General Krell’s image had begun to distort more and more intensely and his only verbal response was a crackling and broken, “General Kenobi?”

Cody turned towards the technician manning the console. “See what you can do to boost the signal.”

“Sir, I’m not sure what’s wrong. It all looks good from our end,” the technician said, continuing to make fine adjustments to the frequency and power in an attempt to optimize the signal transmission. “Most likely explanation is some type of enemy jamming between us and them interfering with the signal.”

“Keep at it,” Cody said simply.

General Kenobi turned back to the pick-up receiver from where he had been silently listening in on the back and forth. “General Krell, it looks like we’re having difficulty transmitting to your location. We suspect enemy involvement; they must be jamming our signals.”

Cody’s unease calmed a little when he saw Rex step forward into the out-station transmitter’s pick-up range. The casualty lists invariably lagged a little behind the reality, so it always made a small part of him breathe an internal sigh of relief when he had real-time confirmation that one of his closest brothers was still alive and kicking. Based on the fractured and incomplete mission reports that had been transmitted back to headquarters so far, the 501st had been having a particularly rough run of luck recently.

“Can’t... destr...ply ship?” Rex interjected, the image and audio transmission beginning to waver in and out more and more inconsistently with every passing second.

“We’re trying, but with little success,” General Kenobi replied, speaking slowly and clearly to the broken transmission with a note of frustration in his voice that probably went undetected by most in the audience. “Their fleet outnumbers ours and the extra ships we were promised have not yet arrived.”

“We’ll just … take ...apital ...issiles,” General Krell asserted. Cody could not prevent his head from jerking up in surprise at the possible disturbing interpretation of that statement and saw General Kenobi stiffen as well. Rex, still visible in the beam, looked over at General Krell with a disquieting amount of resigned disbelief in his eyes. “My ……..meet you …. rendez-vous….”

“We cannot expect you to march your men directly into missile blast zones with no…” General Kenobi’s voice trailed off as the transmission flickered in and out several times, dissolving into a swirl of blue pixels before disappearing entirely. “Get him back on the line. Now.”

Cody watched the technician work frantically at his console for several minutes, before finally shaking his head in defeat. “I’m sorry, sir. There’s nothing more I can do here. I can’t find anything on our end preventing the transmission. It must either be an enemy jamming signal that I’m not able to pick-up with my instruments here, or some kind of equipment failure on their end.”

General Kenobi closed his eyes and took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before releasing it in one long, deliberate exhale. “I understand. Keep trying. Comm me the moment you re-establish contact.”

“Yes, sir!”

Cody turned and fell into step smoothly with his general, pulling on his helmet as they exited the command tent. He was probably overreacting with his worry about the situation. General Krell had a reputation as a tough but effective leader. Cody would have normally done a great deal more research into an officer newly assigned to their Sector Army, especially one who would be taking on such a critical role in the ongoing operation, but the lack of warning with Krell’s appointment had prevented that. Their limited access to external data-nets during the planet-side campaign kept him in the dark, figuratively as well as literally, and he hadn’t had enough free time yet to unofficially poll the troops for any gouge the men may have heard from brothers across unit lines.

All Cody knew was that the Chancellor had somehow directly interjected himself into the proceedings when he sent a gunship into an active campaign battlefield to extract General Skywalker for transport back to Coruscant and install General Krell as acting commanding officer of the 501st. General Kenobi was a consummate professional and usually tried to keep himself pretty locked down in mixed company, even when he disagreed with the orders from those above him, but he had visibly gritted his teeth together in annoyance at the news of this interference without consultation in his operation’s chain of command. 

As Commander in Chief of the GAR, the Chancellor certainly had the authority to make changes to any assigned forces at his discretion.

It was just generally considered bad business to undermine the leadership on the front lines by obviously doing so without clearing it with them ahead of time.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” General Kenobi muttered under his breath, immediately drawing Cody’s full attention back to the man walking at his side. Such an innocuous little phrase would pass without comment if said by anyone else, but Cody had learned hard lessons from previous instances of the most deadly and improbable encounters that those words were normally a prelude to something going terribly, painfully wrong.

“Sir, General Krell might be new to our forces, but he’s an experienced general with multiple campaigns under his belt,” Cody could hear his own tone; his words, meant to be reassuring, were coming out more hesitant than he would have liked. “You know Captain Rex is as steady as they come; he’ll make sure things run smoothly until the new general can get his feet under him. Based on the communication just now General Krell seems like he may be a bit… aggressive in his approach, but he’s likely capable enough.”

“That may be so,” General Kenobi acknowledged, a frown still tugging down the corners of his mouth.

Cody stood silently for a few long seconds, weighing his next words carefully. There were pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses to both sides of the debate that was raging in his mind, and he wanted to make sure he could live with whatever choice he made. He made dozens of similar decisions every day; such was the nature of being the Marshal Commander of an entire Sector Army, responsible for the lives and disposition of hundreds of thousands of troopers. 

For some reason, at this moment, this particular choice felt more momentous, more significant, as if there was more resting on the direction he turned here than he could possibly know.

Cody had never been the type to make decisions impulsively, but once a decision was made, he would _commit_ to a degree that had awed batchmates and trainers alike back on Kamino.

“Sir, with your permission, I’d like to break off from the main group and conduct a personal inspection of the 501st’s operations.”

General Kenobi’s train of thought visibly derailed, the hand that had been stroking his chin twitching in surprise as the Jedi turned his head and blinked over at his commander, totally stupefied by the pronouncement.

“You want to… leave our men, cross 12 klicks of hostile territory, and conduct an _inspection_?”

Cody tilted his head a little to the left, conveying his self-satisfied amusement that he still had it in him to take his general completely by surprise.

“I’ve been passing over some of my duties to Waxer here and there, grooming him for a position of higher authority for a while now. I’m confident he can handle things in my absence with you here as back-up. This’ll be a good test case for him. Throw him into the deep end and prove to himself and everyone else that he can hack it when the chips are down.”

“Cody, you know I trust your judgment in these matters, but this is hardly an advantageous time for you to be away. We are going to be pressing our advance towards the capital within the day, and the men are counting on you to lead them through it. Are you sure this is the best course of action?”

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this one too,” Cody said, his tone heavy with foreboding. “There’s something not right going on over there. The mission reports we’ve had from their unit haven’t been consistent, and they don’t read like the ones Rex usually submits. I’ve been dismissing it, chalking it up to the disruption caused by a new general taking the reins, but it’s been itching at me for a while.”

General Kenobi met his eyes for a long, quiet moment, then nodded decisively. “Very well. Select a squad to accompany you in case you run into any resistance en route. Have Waxer meet us in the command tent in 15; we can brief him together and you can be on your way.”

*

*

Cody knew the situation was far worse than he had feared when he and the four troopers who accompanied him made it to the enemy air base the 501st was occupying. The sheer level of unsteady _relief_ in the eyes and the trembling voices of his brothers who greeted their arrival when they called out their ID codes to the patrolling sentries was a disquieting departure from the typical cocky bravado the 501st had previously displayed like a badge of pride.

He reached out and physically grabbed the first officer he caught sight of by the shoulder pauldron, not pausing in his steady march towards the control tower, debriefing him about recent events with brisk efficiency. The young lieutenant was a bit frazzled by the sudden attention, and sometimes had to backtrack his narrative to clarify the key facts, but overall the picture he ended up painting was of a commanding officer who was criminally incompetent at best, actively working to sabotage the success of his own operations at the cost of his men’s lives at worst. At this point, Cody wasn’t sure which of the two options he was hoping would turn out to be true.

By the time they entered the lift and began to rise toward the top level where General Krell had set up his command center, the trooper had nearly caught him up with the present and was relaying the most recent events, which included the General’s orders to execute two loyal, skilled soldiers, without so much as a formal inquiry. Their only crime being acting outside of orders so they could hand their unit an astonishing victory, possibly turning the tide for the entire campaign, despite their commander’s own terrible leadership.

Although the fiasco of that scrapped execution had happened less than ten minutes ago, the news of it had spread through the troops like wildfire, and now made its way to Cody’s ears. The troopers tapped to serve as the firing squad had immediately scattered in the aftermath, shaken by their collective decision to miss their shots, seeking reassurance from their brothers and filling the rest of the legion in on how much worse the situation had become. 

The only reason Fives and Jesse were still alive was because their brothers had the fortitude and courage to stand against an unjust order and refused to participate in the evil before them.

Apparently Captain Rex had walked this same path only minutes ago with Sergeant Dogma, intending to confront General Krell personally and inform him that the execution he ordered would not be taking place. 

How had the situation here gotten so bad in such a short amount of time?

By the time the lift came a stop, Cody realized his fingers were beginning to ache a little from how hard he was clenching his fists, and had to pause for a moment to collect himself. If he let his emotions overcome his sense, he would be vulnerable to manipulations and mistakes. He’d need every once of cunning and authority he possessed to confront an unstable Jedi master and come out the other side in one piece.

The lift doors opened to reveal a tense scene, the large four-armed Besalisk looming over Rex and actually displaying his fangs in an enraged growl as he leaned in aggressively close. Cody twitched his fingers in a pre-arranged signal towards one of the men he had brought with him as he stepped briskly into the room.

“Atten- _shun_! Marshal Commander on deck!” Cody’s lips twitched a little in amusement despite the fraught situation; Boil’s parade-ground drill instructor voice could strip the paint off a bulkhead even in casual situations, and he was not holding back now. Every clone trooper in the room snapped up straight so fast he could almost hear their spines creaking in protest. Even General Krell reared back a little, his face falling out of its hostile snarl and into a slack expression of pure astonishment.

Cody strode to the center of the room, flanked on both sides by the four men who had accompanied him from the 212th, and then paused for a moment, letting the heavy silence settle for a beat. 

“Would someone like to fill me in on what, precisely, the _kriff_ , is going on here?” 

The nearly-unhinged Jedi general was the first to break the silence, his attention successfully diverted away from the captain he had been menacing, locking onto the newly arrived intruders.

“I don’t know who you think you are, clone, or what sway you imagine you have in _my_ command center--”

“Commander Cody, Marshal Commander of High General Obi-Wan Kenobi’s 3rd Systems Army, and second in command of the 7th Sky Corps, which the legion you have been temporarily placed in command of, happens to fall under. Does that sufficiently answer your concerns about where you fall in the chain of command here?”

“How dare you?” Cody noted with increasing alarm that the Jedi master’s voice was actually shaking with rage. This could not be chalked up to simple incompetence or overly aggressive tactics. Something was very, _very_ wrong here. “If you are trying to imply that _you_ have any right to give _me_ commands…”

Cody cocked his head a little to one side and rocked back onto his heels, giving a few exaggerated visible cues of his overall disdain, and interrupted the general before he could gain too much momentum in the rant he was clearing gearing up for.

“I wasn’t aware I was _implying_ anything. Can anyone here quote me the relevant section of the SORM that addresses this situation?”

Another beat of silence passed before Sergeant Dogma stepped forward, his helmet clenched tightly in one hand, his expression twitching back and forth between shocky disbelief and stark terror. 

“Sir, per the org charts depicted on page seven, enclosure two of the GAR Standard Organization Regulations Manual, during a deployment the commanding officer in charge of a legion is directly subordinate to the command staff of the respective sky corps positioned above them in the command hierarchy.”

“Correct, Sergeant Dogma, and accurate down to the page citation.”

General Krell only had time to suck in an outraged breath before the comms officer called out with a timid voice, “Gentlemen, there’s an incoming transmission.”

Krell seemed to hesitate for a moment, then said with a dismissive hand wave, “Not now, clone. It can wait.”

“It could be a report from one of the sentries,” Cody contradicted immediately, forcing down a desire to respond at once to the insulting form of address, “or one of any number of critical communications. Don’t go anywhere, though, General. We’re not done yet. Put it through, Corporal.”

The holo-comm projector flickered to life in the center of the room, connecting with the incoming call. A clone trooper’s image appeared in the receiver beam, his armor clean of any unique markings or unit identifiers. 

“General, the Umbarans have stepped up their offensive,” the trooper reported. His voice was a little distorted and sounded strangely mechanical as it transmitted through the seized Umbaran equipment. Cody also made note of the poor transmission protocol; the trooper did not properly identify himself or his unit before beginning his report. “We’re holding them off, but their squadrons have ambushed one of our platoons, seizing weapons and uniforms. We believe they may be planning to launch a massive attack.”

“Identify yourself trooper!” Cody barked, futilely, as even as he spoke the call was disconnecting and the image dissolved. 

“What the kriff?” Cody muttered half under his breath. “Corporal, get that trooper back on the line immediately! If he thinks that kind of half-assed report is acceptable, he is in for another think altogether.”

“We don’t have time to fiddle with communications devices right now,” Krell growled, stepped forward and towering over Cody in a blatant and wasted attempt at intimidation. “You heard the report. The Umbarans have seized our uniforms and are mounting a renewed offensive even as we stand here arguing. You should sortie our combined forces, _Commander_ , and go meet them on the field of battle. I’m sure a seasoned veteran such as yourself will not be deceived into letting our enemy achieve victory by using such tactics against us.”

“Making such rash decisions in haste without checking the validity of such a spurious report would be the height of folly,” Cody growled impatiently in response, waving one armored hand in casual dismissal under the Besalisk general’s nose. “I don’t know what kind of bantha-poodoo operation you think you’re running over here, but I have not been impressed with what I’ve seen so far, General Krell. General Skywalker may have his own… unique methods of command, but things were never so slip-shod under his watch. Well?”

The last was delivered with a raised voice and impatient tone towards the hapless corporal manning the communications console. The young shiny snapped to at the renewed attention and stopped his agitated typing to provide a status report.

“Sir, my apologies, I can’t seem to connect to anything,” the trooper stammered. “We haven’t been able to connect to any transmissions, either outgoing or incoming for hours. When I try to re-connect, there’s just...nothing there to find. Now that I’m looking, there’s no actual transmission log of an incoming call. The only thing I’m seeing is a programmed sub-routine that looks like it was uploaded recently into the system for a timed recorded playback.”

Cody stiffened, turning slowly to face the general once again, one hand falling to the blaster at his side. “Do you have any explanation for this, _General_?”

Cody kept his eyes squarely on the threat in front of him, but noted in his peripheral vision that his men and the troopers of the 501st were following his lead, all twitching into combat ready stances, their hands moving towards their weapons. He saw Krell’s eyes darting about the room, observing the same.

“You would dare threaten me?” Krell growled darkly, his own hands inching towards his lightsabers. 

Cody nodded, not bothering with any grandstanding. “I am placing you under military arrest until a formal inquiry can be completed. If you refuse to comply, these men are authorized to use up to deadly force if needed to subdue you.”

“You are nothing. I will not be undermined by a creature bred in some laboratory!”

“Will it be mutiny against your lawful chain of command then, General?” Cody asked, his voice as steady and implacable as his gaze. 

“So be it,” Krell snarled, his fangs on full display and eyes glinting with cruel anticipation.

Before anyone could react, the rogue Jedi flung out two arms in a wide gesture, sending a wave of Force-pressure outwards, causing the clone troopers surrounding him to stumble back in disarray. With his third and fourth hands, Krell drew his two double-bladed lightsaber staffs, igniting them even as he dashed toward the wide panoramic window. Cody was already sprinting forward as Krell swung one of his sabers, shattering the glass and leaping out into the night.

“Oh no you don’t,” Cody growled, grabbing Rex’s wrist as he ran towards the shattered window, his brother falling smoothly into step beside him. They had practiced this maneuver dozens of times in the sim room but had never yet had occasion to use it on the battlefield. These were certainly not the kind of conditions he would have preferred to try it out in the real world for the first time, but, needs must.

Cody flung himself out into the open air, Rex launching himself out beside him with perfect trust, following only seconds behind Krell. He could hear Boil and his squad following behind and knew he could count on them to circle around into an effective formation. He quickly spotted Krell, still falling to the ground below, confident he could not be followed and slowing his descent with the Force to allow himself a comfortable landing. Cody let them free fall for several more seconds, gaining ground on their enemy, acting at the last possible moment to fire up his jetpack rockets and give them a boost to stop their descent just in time. 

Cody heard Rex grunt in discomfort as his left shoulder was wrenched violently by the sudden loss of momentum as Cody kept an iron grip on his brother’s wrist. Both of them already had their blasters up and aimed in their alternate hands, and started peppering Krell with fire before he could even hit the ground.

Their attack took him completely by surprise, Cody landing one good shot on his shoulder and Rex tagging him twice in the right leg. Boil’s squad had fired up their jetpacks by this point as well. They circled around to flank Krell just as he landed poorly, stumbling and dropping one of his lightsabers as his injured leg failed to hold his full weight. Two of the troopers shot off their gauntlet launched whipcords in a coordinated attack, the taut lines of cable spooling out and wrapping tightly around Krell with textbook perfection, while two more fired off stun blasts at full power, downing the rogue Jedi then and there on the tarmac.

*

*

As much as Cody wanted to give the men time to rest and process what had happened, at this point their futures depended on them doing everything by the book as thoroughly as possible. In the aftermath of an _osik_ -storm like this, there were always those who would try to point fingers and lay blame in an attempt to make the problems go away. The best way to protect everyone involved would be to ensure there was nothing that an external inquiry could find fault with. 

He took care to schedule his own inquiry proceedings around the ongoing patrol rosters and that all hands understood the defense of the captured air base remained the highest priority. As important as the investigation was, it would all be irrelevant if their position ended up overrun by the enemy. 

Unfortunately, that remained a very real danger. The Separatist forces and the local militias had not stopped their probing attacks against the perimeter of the air base and whatever Krell had done to sabotage the comms had not yet been repaired.

One of the troopers he brought with him from the 212th was tasked with compiling all relevant electronic data. Corporal Kite was as reliable and meticulous as they came and Cody knew he could trust the man to be thorough. He wanted _everything_ ; from the security surveillance video that captured Krell’s dramatic window-shattering escape attempt, to the holo-recording of the faked clone trooper giving the false report of stolen uniforms, going all the way back to the archived file with the initial orders modification that had been sent from Coruscant, recalling General Skywalker and placing General Krell in charge to begin with.

Sergeant Boil would be occupied for hours yet, diligently taking formal, signed statements from each of the enlisted troopers involved. Cody himself was interviewing the officers, making sure they were kept apart until he had time to speak to them about their accounts, taking each aside separately to record their version of events and making sure each was sealed for the record once complete. 

Cody had been working his way up through the ranks and only had one trooper left to interview. This one would be the hardest.

When Rex entered the room where he was conducting the interviews, closing the door behind him and taking a seat at the small table with a resigned sigh, Cody tried not to show how shaken he was by the other man’s appearance. Even in the wake of the most bloody battles, when he felt like his resolve might falter, he knew he could always lean on Rex’s fiery determination to bolster his own. Now, it seemed like that fire had finally been snuffed out.

His brother wouldn’t meet his eyes, even as he sat directly across from him at the table. His shoulders were slumped in defeat and he made no move to reach for the hot cup of caf that Cody pushed in his direction. His hands were carefully and precisely folded together atop the table; what could have been taken as a casual gesture was betrayed by the unnaturally tight grip revealed by the whitening knuckles.

“Rex,” Cody said softly, leaning forward and folding one of his hands gently over the clenched grip, feeling the tension slowly and reluctantly ease under his touch. “It’s going to be ok. I promise.”

After a tense moment of silence Rex burst into movement, snatching his hands out of his brother’s reassuring hold and shooting to his feet. He began to furiously pace back and forth across the small room, bringing both hands up and running them roughly over his short-cropped hair.

“It’s not though,” he snarled as he spun around to pace in the other direction, gesturing wildly towards where Cody still sat. “It’s not! Men are dead, Cody. My men. And their lives were my responsibility. I didn’t put a stop to it. I should have seen it. He was using me all along and I just… _let_ him.”

“You couldn’t have known.”

“That’s a steaming pile of _osik_! I could have known. I _should_ have. Even Fives was saying Krell wasn’t acting like any of the other Jedi. Why didn’t I see it?!”

Cody tried to keep his own uncertainty hidden as one of his strongest brothers fell apart before his eyes. He took a deep breathe and remembered dozens of times back on Kamino when he had been the pillar of strength to help one of the other trainees get their feet back under them after a failure or a loss. All of the times when one of the young soldiers of the 212th had come to him for reassurance after a hard battle. He thought back to all of the times he had watched and admired as General Kenobi reached out time and time again to offer endless compassion and kindness to refugees from war-torn worlds, patiently listening to their stories and offering them a steady shoulder to fall apart on. 

Cody could do that for his brother. And until he found his own strength again, Rex could borrow some of his. 

Cody stood up and reached out.

*

*

Cody had agonized over the decision, but in the end, as much as he wanted to shelter Rex and those who had already suffered under Krell’s tyranny, cold pragmatism won out. The after-action from this would be scrutinized at the highest levels, and it was more important than ever that the propriety of their actions be without question.

So it was himself, accompanied by Captain Rex as the ranking officer of the 501st and ARC Trooper Fives as an independent augmentee, that descended together on the slowly rotating disk that eventually brought them level with the cell Krell was being detained in.

None of the clone troopers were Force-sensitive, and Cody harbored no illusions in that regard, but he couldn’t entirely hold back the shiver that slid down his spine as they came level with the prisoner. There was a palpable aura of menace and darkness that pulsed out from the being before them, so strong that even Force-nulls like them could sense its cold touch.

“Greetings, Commander,” General Krell’s voice was still smooth and resonant, dripping with sinister condescension now that he had no reason left to disguise his true face. “I really must thank you for lending me the use of such a fine captain. I wouldn’t have been nearly as successful without his simple-minded support.”

Cody saw the barb hit home as Rex visibly flinched; he clenched his teeth together for a moment despite his previous resolve to remain locked down. He would _not_ let this piece of scum goad him into a rash response. 

“General Krell,” Cody kept his voice even, deliberately ignoring the previous sally, and gained some satisfaction from seeing the rage that his calm disregard ignited in the eyes of the prisoner. “I am here to conduct a formal interview connected with an ongoing inquiry into possible criminal actions; this interview is being recorded and these two men will serve as witnesses to our conduct herein should they be so called upon. You are currently under suspicion of deliberate subversion of your own unit’s operations, deliberate sabotage and destruction of GAR equipment, criminal conspiracy resulting in the deaths of 23 clone troopers under your command, and treason against the Republic during a time of war. Any statement you make can be used against you as evidence in a trial by court-martial. 

“Before we begin, do you have anything to say that might explain your actions? Any explanation to offer as to why you chose the course that you did?”

“Why? _Why_ would I do it?” Krell leaned forward until his forehead was nearly touching the cell’s energy field, his fangs bared and his voice growing more unstable the longer he spoke. “Because I _can_. Because those idiots fell for it. Because you’re inferior.”

“But you’re a Jedi!” The words burst from Rex before Cody could restrain him. “How could you?”

“A Jedi?!” Krell shouted incredulously, interrupting himself to cackle in a truly unhinged manner for several seconds. “I am no longer _naive_ enough to be a Jedi. A new power is rising. I’ve forseen it. The Jedi are going to lose this war. And the Republic will be ripped apart from the inside. In its place is going to rise a new order. And I will rule as part of it.”

“Have you joined the Separatist cause then?” Cody asked, trying to get the interview back on some kind of productive track. 

“I serve no one side. Only my own. And soon, my new master.”

Rex interjected again, his voice quiet and shattered. “You’re an agent of Dooku.”

But that...Cody’s thoughts raced as several disturbing threads started coming together.

“No,” he couldn’t help musing out loud, feeling the need to speak the still-vague revelations that were forming in his mind as he grappled with what all this implied. “No, Krell was handpicked and sent here on personal orders from Chancellor Palpatine’s office so General Skywalker could be relieved and sent back to Coruscant. Dooku wouldn’t have the access to fake that kind of high level recall and replacement orders. It must have been someone working out of the Chancellor’s office.” 

Cody paused to take a deep breath and visibly calmed his anger before addressing the prisoner again. “You’ve turned against the Jedi and aligned yourself with the Sith then?” 

“Only on a provisional basis for now. After I’ve succeeded in driving the Republic from Umbara the true power in this galaxy will reward my actions and make me his new apprentice.” 

Cody drew a breath to ask another question and hesitated, thinking hard. This was far too easy. Why was Krell handing them his guilt on a silver platter? If he had just lied and come up with a few plausible denials, he could have tangled this whole situation into a drawn-out bureaucratic nightmare. Cody was chilled as he realized what implications this frank confession meant about the level of confidence the Besalisk had in his own prospects for imminent escape and defection. 

At that moment Cody’s short-range wrist comm chimed, the image of one of the troopers on duty in the control tower appearing when he activated it.

“Commander, we’ve repaired the transmitter,” the corporal reported, his voice tight with tension rather than the relief Cody might have expected at the statement. “We’ve received a transmission from General Kenobi. His forces have captured the capital. The remaining Umbarans are fleeing the city and...heading here.”

“Recall the scouts and get everyone on the perimeter,” Cody ordered briskly. “Inform me when the enemy forces are five clicks out from our position.”

“Yes, Sir!”

Cody turned back to the prisoner to find Krell chuckling and shaking his head in mock regret. “The Umbarans are going to re-take this base, and when they do, I will be free.”

“Commander,” Fives stepped forward and spoke up for the first time, his voice urgent. “If the Umbarans get to him, he’ll turn over all of our intel. Defense codes, everything! It would strike a crippling blow to the Republic.”

Cody nodded, the same calculations already running through his own head. It all added up to only one course of action he’d be able to live with in the end.

He drew his blaster.

“Turn around and face the wall,” he directed towards the prisoner, gesturing wordlessly with the weapon he held.

Krell smiled at him, one corner of his mouth lifting into an unsavory curl, ignoring the order and looking smug. “You’re in a position of power now. How does it feel?”

“I said, turn around.”

Krell’s smirk only grew. He did not seem to understand his own peril, clearly still relishing every moment of the exchange. The Besalisk turned with a little shrug, still talking.

“It feels good, doesn’t it? But I can sense your fear. You’re shaking. You can’t do it, can you? In the end, your kind is weak. You’ve been infected with the same feeble-minded compassion the Jedi seek to spread like an infection throughout the galaxy.”

“Actually I _can_ do it,” Cody replied easily, beginning to enter the code that would drop the containment field and give him access to the criminal. “As ranking officer currently in charge of this unit, I have the authority to render punishment as I deem fit to any subordinate while we are operating in an active combat zone. And I find your un-coerced confession, in combination with the other evidence already gathered, sufficient to find you guilty of treason.” 

The field dropped and Krell tensed, suddenly sensing the very real danger that threatened him. 

Both Fives and Rex jumped, somehow still startled by the distinctive sound of a blaster firing twice in rapid succession, despite being able to see it coming. Every eye was fixed on General Krell as he fell, two precisely placed smoking holes in his back, directly over where the heart was located in his species. The two other troopers couldn’t take their eyes off the body even as they heard Cody holster his blaster with a slow deliberate movement, frozen still with a mixture of shock and fear and adrenaline still coursing through their veins. 

Cody walked over to the cell and scanned the still form, nodding with satisfaction when the readings came back confirming death.

“Let’s go, gentlemen. We’ve got an air base to defend.”

*

*

In the end, the combined forces of the GAR triumphed. The planet of Umbara was overtaken and the Republic gained a significant foothold, disrupting the Separatist supply lines and sending their logistics chains into chaos throughout the sector.

Cody had gone to deliver an oral report directly to General Kenobi as soon a relief force was sent to take over occupation of the air base, bringing the 501st back to the now-secured capital along with him. Those men would definitely need some time away from the front lines to get level again after what they had survived.

The general’s expression had been blank as he listened to his commander’s detached re-telling of events, as he was filled in on what had been relayed to Cody about the state of affairs prior to his arrival, and everything he had observed and done based on his own judgment. General Kenobi was renowned for his cool composure regardless of the situation he faced, but Cody knew him well enough by then to look to his eyes; that’s where his general’s emotions truly resided.

By the time Cody had finished his account, Kenobi’s eyes were the stormiest gray he had ever seen them, lines of tension and helpless anger visible at their corners.

With only the mopping up of scattered pockets of resistance still to be done, General Kenobi turned over command of the ground force invasion and made his way back up to his flagship with his command staff. Cody had had precious little spare time to himself between the demands of post-battle reports, catching up with the status of the 212th, and making sure the 501st got the support they needed, but what little he had was dedicated to finishing the outline for the proposal he intended to submit. This chain of events had highlighted a huge blind spot he had previously allowed himself to ignore. Now that it had been brought forcefully to his attention, he was determined to do everything in his power to ensure it never happened again.

Cody strode into the communications hub on the bridge to find the holo-call was already in full swing, the miniature images of the Jedi council members flickering, expressions grim and disturbed by the report that General Kenobi had already relayed. Kenobi shot him a quick look at his last-minute entry, his eyebrows raised just a tick in question at the departure from his usual reliable punctuality. 

Cody wordlessly joined him in the beam.

“A disturbing development, this is,” General Yoda commented, breaking the silence. “Welcome your presence is, Commander. More clarity to add to the situation, we hope you have. Your testimony it is that an intention to defect and become a Sith apprentice Master Krell declared?”

“That’s correct, Sir,” Cody stated clearly, folding his hands behind his back and standing up straighter. “We also took care to ensure the interview where he confessed as much was recorded, so you will be able to hear the statements he made for yourselves. We will transmit those recordings along with the other evidence that was gathered over the course of the investigation as soon as this call is ended.”

The council members were silent for several beats at that, exchanged heavy looks among themselves.

“And you maintain that it was necessary to execute Master Krell on the spot, rather than keeping him in custody to face a more formal justice proceeding?” General Koon asked, his voice subdued and saddened as he spoke, rather than challenging.

“I considered the evidence carefully and weighed the risk of his falling into Separatist hands, then chose a course of action that made the most sense given the situation we were facing on the ground.”

“One that was legally and ethically within Commander Cody’s authority to make at the time,” General Kenobi interjected pointedly, removing any possible doubt about where his opinion fell on the subject.

“In regards to a related topic,” Cody took the opportunity to speak up again, “along with the evidence, witness statements, and summary report contained within the investigation file, I will be sending an additional data package as well. It contains an initial proposal for the creation of a small, agile new sub-unit of the GAR, one that would be dedicated to the task of preventing a similar chain of events from developing again. It is clear now, with perfect hindsight, that General Krell was likely responsible for more needless deaths and destruction before his arrival on Umbara. At present, there are no formal measures to detect or report that sort of corruption from within, and no military-affiliated unit with a mandate of impartiality that can step in to investigate or act on it where it may exist.”

“You’re seeking to establish an independent Inspector General’s office to have oversight of the GAR,” General Windu commented, his words slow and deliberate. “And you believe we have the manpower and resources to make such an endeavor a reality?”

“I do, Sir. If you look at my proposal, you’ll see that it will take a relatively small investment in resources to get it stood up. Since their primary tasks will be centered around research and investigation, most of the billets could be filled by making better use of the personnel we already have. If we establish the headquarters of the unit near a medical facility, we can divert some of the clone troopers who are still mentally and physically capable, but otherwise too injured to return to their units, rather than sending them back to Kamino.”

General Windu nodded at the response, steepling his fingers in front of his chin and closing his eyes thoughtfully as he leaned back in his seat and visibly mulled over the concept.

“It will be difficult to convince the Senate of the necessity for this,” General Koon pointed out reasonably. “As public sentiment turns more and more against this war, senators are increasingly speaking out publicly to condemn the fiscal costs and refusing to release funds for even the basic necessities of our existing units and ongoing campaigns, let alone authorizing any new expenditures.”

“I think this idea has far too much merit to dismiss,” General Shaak Ti’s harmonic voice chimed in next. “And as recent events have shown, there is a great need for it. With the Council’s permission, I will take the lead in reviewing this proposal and formulate a way forward in consultation with Commander Cody. Perhaps we can fold the effort in under an already-existing budget provision and avoid the Senate debate entirely. I will also consult with the technicians here on Kamino to develop a system we can implement in the near-term to make anonymous reporting of potential abuses available to all soldiers of the GAR. We cannot ever again force our troopers into a situation where they face such evil and have no recourse to reach out to us for help.”

Cody nodded to the Jedi general who had worked so tirelessly to correct the worst abuses that had been rampant on Kamino before the Jedi had arrived. If anyone would take this task seriously and work with him to find a way forward that would protect as many troopers as possible, he could trust that it would be her. General Ti met his eyes through the projector and returned his nod gravely.

“Settled that is for now then, I think,” Yoda said, thumping his cane on the floor in emphasis. “Move on to other troubling matters, we must.”

“Can we truly give credence to this claim that someone highly placed in the Supreme Chancellor’s office could be involved with the Sith? The very Sith that we know have been aligned with the Separatist cause from the beginning?” General Mundi protested. “The levels of layered conspiracy implied by such an idea defies reason.”

“Credence to it give, we must,” Yoda intoned slowly, all eyes turning to him as he weaved his head back and forth gently, giving the impression he was being softly cradled in the rocking waves of the Force even as he continued to speak. “Sensed a growing Darkness on Coruscant for some time, we all have. More and more centered around the leadership of this war has it become with each passing day. Until now, no tangible evidence have we had to narrow possibilities and triangulate a source for this Darkness.”

General Windu nodded in agreement, his brow furrowed, his eyes still closed in concentration. “This evidence you have gathered may provide the key we have been missing to unlock the mystery of who has been working in the shadows to bring about the downfall of the Republic. Whoever it was in the Chancellor’s office that generated the orders modification to send Krell on his Dark task to Umbara may find that their overconfidence will be their undoing.

“Well done, Commander,” General Windu concluded, opening his eyes and letting his features relax into a barely-detectable smile aimed at Cody through the holo-projector. “Very well done, indeed.”

“We should get this information to those we can trust on the Senate’s Military Oversight Committee as soon as possible,” General Kenobi pointed out. “They will be able to act discreetly and can trace these threads back to wherever they may lead. The Jedi Order will be able to provide whatever support is needed to follow-through to whatever end we find.”

“A way forward, we have,” Yoda said, a note of finality in his voice. “May the Force be with us all.”

The holo-feed wavered as the participants offered respectful bows in farewell, Cody himself snapping to attention formally as the images of the high generals flickered out.

Cody only spared a moment of mild regret for the manner in which he had bypassed his general by submitting his proposal directly to the Council before clearing it through him first. He shook it off immediately and knew better than to dwell on it. There had just been so little time in the direct aftermath of Umbara, and General Kenobi wasn’t the type of leader that would resent him for not seeking his approval ahead of time. Cody knew he could count on him to back his play no matter the outcome.

When Cody looked over at the other man, he caught him in a rare moment of vulnerability, leaning forward with one hand braced heavily against the console in front of him, the other rubbing his forehead wearily.

“Sir,” Cody said, pausing for just a moment to make sure his voice would come out exactly as strong and steady as he needed it to be in this moment. “We’re going to make it through this. We’re going to figure out who this scum-sucking piece of _osik_ is who’s trying to tear the Republic down from the inside, and we’re going to stop them in their tracks.”

Cody watched with satisfaction as Kenobi’s lips twitched up a little in reluctant amusement at the rare show of vulgarity Cody usually took pains to keep outside his general’s hearing range. General Kenobi straightened up, his hand shifting down to stroke his beard, making a vain attempt to cover his curling little smile.

“Oh? Is that so?”

“Yes,” Cody replied firmly, no room for doubt in his voice as a strange certainty took up residence in his chest and a fragile new hope for the future unfurled within him. “That’s so.”

**Author's Note:**

> The Umbara episodes are so terrible and so wonderful, they really left an impact on me after watching them. Because while we know that Krell was an extreme deviation and absolutely not the norm (Jesse: “I’ve never seen a general with these kinds of casualties.” Fives: “He’s out of control. He is _not_ acting like the other Jedi. He has _no_ respect for us”), the situation that the clones are trapped in highlights the terrible nature and unfairness of their existence more than anything else had leading up to that. The Republic/Palpatine commissioned their creation and gives them no way to opt out of fighting in their war...and the Jedi Order can't prevent or control that. The best the Jedi can do is put themselves on the front lines with them and die alongside them. At least the clones weren't alone in their service, even if that does little to ameliorate the fact that their service was involuntary.


End file.
